When Hamvention® opens on May 19 for the first time in Xenia, Ohio, the focus of ARRL activities will be the ARRL EXPO in Building 2 of the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. ARRL will sponsor a slate of forums on all 3 days of Hamvention.

To highlight the new location, some fresh ARRL forum topics will accompany the old standards. Space is limited at some forum venues.

ARRL has reached out to the Maker movement, and “Ham Radio Makers and Hackers” will kick off the League’s forum schedule on Friday at 10:30 AM (Room 4). The ham radio community has always promoted the DIY (do it yourself) approach — what some hams call “homebrewing.” The panelists at this hour-long session will share experiences about how ham radio is finding kinship with the new generation of creators, makers, hackers, and innovators. Panelists will include ARRL author Glen Popiel, KW5GP, and ARRL Education & Technology Program instructor Tommy Gober, N5DUX. Also on the panel is Cara Kouse, Innovation and Makerspace Manager at the Xenia Community Library, who will talk about the new Makerspace opened at the library early this year.

Also new at Hamvention 2017 will be the “HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation” forum, Saturday at 9:15 AM (Room 4). Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, will answer the question, “What is HamSCI?” A group of panelists will share information about professional research programs supported by radio amateurs. Presentations also will address investigations related to the total solar eclipse in August, and Frissell will discuss “The Solar Eclipse QSO Party: Ionospheric Sounding Using Ham Radio QSOs.”

One popular forum at the Orlando HamCation focused on the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI). Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR, will bring the discussion to Hamvention on Saturday at 12:30 PM (Room 4). A growing number of campus radio clubs and student radio amateurs have begun to share ideas and suggestions on the CARI Facebook page to rekindle interest in ham radio on college and university campuses, bringing students together, and developing career connections. Students, alumni, and faculty will present at the forum. The ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative is sponsored in part by the W1YSM Snyder Family Collegiate Amateur Radio Endowment.

“Learning. Discovery. And FUN!” on Sunday at 9:15 AM (Room 2). ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology instructor Tommy Gober, N5DUX, will introduce teachers to a variety of tools, as well as a curriculum to take back to their classrooms. Topics include an introduction to basic electronics, the science of radio, space technology, and satellite communication, as well as weather science, introduction to microcontrollers, and basic robotics. Gober will share strategies to motivate students to learn and to inspire interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, will moderate the ARRL Member Forum on Saturday at 11:45 AM (Room 1). It’s an opportunity for ARRL members and prospective members to hear from local and national ARRL officials on key areas of membership interest. Learn how ARRL supports dozens of ways to get involved, get active, and get on the air.

The wide-ranging “Public Service Communications Panel Discussion” on Saturday at 1:45 PM (Room 4) will offer a chance to hear from representatives of organizations active during disasters and emergencies. ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, will moderate. There will be presentations by representatives of the VoIP WX Net and VoIP Hurricane Net; the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS); the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN); the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and the US Department of Homeland Security’s SHARES network.

At “Ham Radio and the Law: Antenna Permits and Problems” on Friday at 2:45 PM (Room 2), attorney Fred H. Hopengarten, K1VR — the author of Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur — will head a panel of Amateur Radio attorneys in a discussion of legal issues to include avoiding restrictive covenants, tower permits, and recent court rulings on the PRB-1 limited federal preemption. The forum will present the latest information on H.R. 555, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2017.

“ARRL National Parks on the Air Recap” on Sunday at 10:30 AM (Room 2) will review the highly successful NPOTA activity that commemorated the centennial of the US National Park Service last year, inspiring more than 1 million contacts during park activations. ARRL Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, and ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, will moderate.